IRISH PEOPLE are not natural complainers or, traditionally at least, have not been particularly adept at directing their complaints in the right direction. Although they might criticise the quality of service in a restaurant to fellow diners, when the meal ends and the waiter asks if everything was alright, most will nod politely, say all was fine and leave, silently vowing never to return. However, things may be changing as consumers finally find their voice. Yet in many cases, the businesses which are the focus of their increasing ire do not appear to be listening.
A number of recent reports point to a steady rise in the complaints being made against companies as once docile consumers – frustrated by high prices and poor service – take a stand in defence of their rights. The European Consumer Centre in Dublin, which deals with cross-border transactions, said last week that it had seen a spike in complaints in some sectors in 2010 when it dealt with just under 4,000 cases. Air travel accounted for 46 per cent of complaints with the Icelandic ash crisis a cause of particular difficulty. Faulty electronic goods, car rental and entertainment including satellite television, mobile phones and internet services were the other primary sources of complaint.
And speaking as he published his annual report last month, Financial Services Ombudsman William Prasifka described “a paradigm shift amongst the public” in recent years which, he said, meant people were now considerably more likely to complain about the level of service being offered by financial institutions. He welcomed increasingly vocal consumers but expressed dismay that the same institutions did not appear to be listening or learning from their mistakes. The Ombudsman is forbidden under existing legislation from identifying the culprits but he has called on the Government to allow him to name and shame those institutions which routinely fail their customers. It is a move he believes will “create virtuous competition” and incentivise banks into offering better customer service.
The steady stream of complaints which have flowed into Conor Pope’s Pricewatch pages in recent years is further evidence that too many companies seem incapable of learning from their errors. If a customer is moved to contact a newspaper to complain about the shoddy performance of a company, then that company has clearly failed miserably to deliver an adequate level of service. The fact that so many of the problems which cause difficulty, often for months, can be resolved with a single phone call is a damning indictment of the value some firms place on customer care.
The message from consumer groups – and indeed this newspaper – is about empowerment. If people are not happy with a service provider because of price or quality, they should make their displeasure known. And if nothing changes or their problems are not resolved in a timely fashion, they should take their business and money elsewhere. The competitive challenges facing most companies give consumers the upper hand. They should use it to their advantage.